Conventionally, there has been known a human attribute estimation system in a store such as a convenience store which photographs a customer and estimates the attributes of the customer from an image to analyze the type of the customer. FIG. 28 is a diagram showing the configuration of a conventional human attribute estimation system. This human attribute estimation system is an age/gender estimation system for estimating age and gender as attributes of a human. As shown in FIG. 28, the age/gender estimation system 50 is constituted by a monitoring camera 51 and an age/gender estimation apparatus 52.
The monitoring camera 51 is installed, for example, near the entrance of a store to take a video which includes the face of a customer who enters the store. The age/gender estimation apparatus 52 is provided with a face detecting section 521, an age/gender estimating section 522 and an estimation parameter storing section 523. The face detecting section 521 detects a face from each frame image of the video taken by the monitoring camera 51. The age/gender estimating section 522 estimates the age and gender for the face detected by the face detecting section 521. The estimation parameter storing section 523 stores parameters (models or the like) used when age and gender are estimated by the age/gender estimating section 522.
In the age/gender estimation system 50, the monitoring camera 51 takes a video which includes the face of a customer, the face detecting section 521 detects a face from each frame image of the taken video, and the age/gender estimating section 522 estimates the age and gender of the photographed human using the parameters stored in the estimation parameter storing section 523.
In the estimation parameter storing section 523, estimation parameters created in advance when the age/gender estimation system 50 was manufactured and shipped (hereinafter referred to as “initial estimation parameters”) are stored. The initial estimation parameters were calculated on the basis of multiple learning images taken in an experimental laboratory. When the age/gender estimation systems 50 are sold as products, the same initial estimation parameters are stored in the estimation parameter storing sections 523 of all of the age/gender estimation systems 50.
As a prior-art technique document which discloses a technique related to the present invention, the following document exists.